Category Archives: Progressive Metal

Creatively speaking, to breath new life into the progressive DM genre is not an easy task, especially with these recent years’ excessive outpour in everything “tech”. Everyone wants to shred and let’s be frank, by itself that’s not a very original idea anymore. But Beyond Creation do something a bit different on the title track of “Earthborn Evolution“, offering you this atmospheric, rich sound that charms one in a way both familiar and strange. And that strange spacious otherworldly feeling you get from this sonic experience feels authentic, fitting well with the album’s artwork below – that depicts a futuristic landscape in a style perhaps influenced by the works of the late H.R Giger.

Sound-wise the main intention here, at least with this track, seems to be the creation of an enigmatic coherence – and not merciless chaos; To be heavy but not overbearing; To channel the essence of genres like prog, DM and maybe also post-metal to some extent but to transcend the built-in traps and flaws these sub-genres contain. To be “post” in the sense of directing yourself towards freedom and away from definition; just listen to this track and try to define it – There’s no use really. It’s both grandiose yet low-key. What the hell.The flexible sound described is best represented by that fretless tasty bass sound all prog fans love hearing on a record.

In short, the song is a statement, it shows a lot of promise and I’m betting “Earthborn Evolution” will be a great album. I could be wrong , who knows, but the potential is definitely here. So stick around and follow these guys – I feel like they’re about to teach their surrounding scene a lesson on what extreme progressive music is all about. The album comes out in 4 Days and you can get it here!

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It’s time for part II of our lengthy journey to review Prog-sphere’s Progstravaganza 13 ! The tracks on this second installment are quite different, and heavier than those found in PART I. If like me, you like your prog heavier, this one’s for you !

Well then, while the first songs in this catalog were, for the most part, kinda light weight as you understand, two real heavy contenders finally enter the stage in the form of space rockers Temple Of The Smoke and sludge\stoner band Pike.

Temple Of The Smoke‘s “Moth Of Time” is a good instrumental piece where quiet and bright psychedelic patterns turn to heavy riffs and vice versa. The band reminds me at certain moments of My Sleeping Karma but are less about hypnotically circular phrasing, instead having a more freeform, unexpected experimental\progressive structure.

Pike‘s “Ned Land” is so doomy and sludgy, a slowly growing storm, angry and despairing, crushing you with a buzz that doesn’t let up. ‘definitely not an easy listen, this is an ambitious, massive song, with interesting vocals, and I would love to hear it re-mixed.

Following numerous cheesy, tedious and puzzling tracks, we stumble upon a real surprise in this catalog – “Requiem Aeternam”, by the band Eyevory. Now, this 10 minutes track isn’t perfect, at first sounding even amateur, and it somewhat is, but you just can’t ignore the crazy endeavour these guys quickly get themselves into. It’s one the most lively, original instrumental sections I’ve heard in a while, commanded by non other than a flute! Eyevory‘s creative sense of melody is just a joy to listen to, free from inhibitions and unafraid, going places and genres you’d never expect. It’ll put a smile on your face.

At 32#, “Dark Symphony” by “Le Reverie” is the total opposite of experimentation, doing the “modern metal” thing by the numbers. The group executes this style very well compared to other similar bands on this tracklist. They have good female vocals, catchy hooks that keep you interested, and a bit of a southern US sound to’em too.

This concludes part II of this series. Stay tuned for part III !

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Today’s post will be quite a different one – Instead of covering one album, we’ll be taking a look at a very interesting promotional catalog of songs by different artists published by prog-sphere.com – entitled: Progstravaganza 13 !

Yes, “interesting” will be a fittingly objective word to describe this prog-ish catalog which contains such musical broad range both in terms of its quality(ranging from amazing to downright ridiculous) – and the numerous sub-genres. Anyway, since reviewing all 76 songs makes for a ridiculous task, a better idea would be to tell you only about the very best of this tracklist. Let’s get to it!

This very, VERY long listening experience starts with couple of cringe-worthy cheesy openers, but quickly enough, we arrive at few notably creative groups like Omb, Ornithos, El Trio and Telergy.

Next up at number six we have Ornithos who play quite quirky & surprising heavy music, their unorthodox approach bringing together female vocals, a saxophone and a flute. They do so without losing their metallic edge, and the result is just a lot of fun, grabbing your attention, and also not overstaying its welcome, which is good since the vocals are a tad overbearing.

Less heavy n’ all straightforward, at numbereight we got El Trio introducing to usa more playful jazzy style . These guys do a good job balancing their experimental and jammin’ side sound with a coherent song structure on “Descontectar“.

At ninth we have the coolest song so far, by the band Telergy. This instrumental’s intro is such a slow, long buildup its funny, but the wait is well worth it, finally concluding in a brilliant entrance of raw riffage and powerful orchestration. This one literally pulls out the inner prog metal nerd outta ya! A Killer song, solid and diverse, and it’s well mixed too. Here’s “Rumors”:

Follower “Once More With Feeling” by Traffic Experiment may come across as something you’ve heard already, and yeah I’ll agree it’s more retro than original, but the song grows on you, and channeling the classics, it serves as a soothing prog rock break. This might also be a good place to take a break ourselves! ‘Hope you enjoyed Part I of The Very Best Of Progstravaganza 13.

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Autolatry are a metal band from Connecticut, USA. On “Native“, the guys tell historic tales of their homeland of New England through the means of proggy Black Metal, using an intelligent & somewhat post-metal songwriting style that allows for lengthy tracks filled with wild textures of harmony and dissonance. The band uses these layers of rhythm and melody to tap into a tireless energy that doesn’t aim to be just harsh, instead giving the music an occult charm with a certain hypnotic quality.

The aformentioned mesmerizing element makes listening to “Native” feel like entering a chasm of no return. But as I said, it isn’t some bleak all-terrible fall – more like a really enjoyable musical ride that you don’t wanna get off of! First piece “Colony” showcases the sound of Autolatry through a rather traditional introduction, but soon enough, the band’s signature melodies creep in, circulating like the bloodlife of this release. And from violent, these become soothing on track two, “Waning Moon“, where the aura of the previous BM attack slows down and embraces post-metal sluggish instrumental darkness, the chords droning and drowning in their own echoes. Give it a listen:

“Unrest with the tide” begins once again with restless black metal textures, but now with a more intricate intent than on “Colony“. The fretless bass, leads, chords and drums painting a very abstract picture that seems to be always on the move, so even though it clocks at 7 minutes, these pass by proudly. The percussion should be noted here, the drummer knowing when to just groove with it, and when to alternate so things stay fresh. The vocals also vary – between traditional shrieks to lower growls and even some rough cleans on “Pale Dishonor“. This piece is half blackened, half quieter, the latter featuring a well-written solo and lovely acoustic guitars, and the way these again transition into BM dissonance is fantastic.

Just before the title track, we arrive at a beautiful, all-acoustic break in the form of “Setting of the Sun“. This one is “clean” as can be, features a saxophone solo(!) and could easily fit on a non-metal album! Only Autolatry can pull it off on a metal release, with their bewitching proggy allure.

The closing title track, “Native“, demonstrates everything the band is good at, making this whole release, while of course composed of different parts, eventually feel like one long melodic ambient concept. And though it ends after 6 tracks, the sound these guys aim to deliver remains with the listener afterwards, echoing in the ears and mind further on like a slowly fading aura.

Yes, “Native” is a very good album, it’s quality lingering on and not vanishing the second you click “stop” like with most modern music. It feels original and surprising, but doesn’t fall into the trap of going over-the-top and trying to reinvent the genre; The ideas are kept organic and flowing, instead of being covered by endless orchestration, since each song and it’s progression have enough “meat” to them as it is; An interesting, heavy effort that is recommended for BM fans, post-metal shoegazers and progheads alike!
— 9/10 —

Taking a break from Nevermore in 2005 has given guitar player Jeff Loomis a chance for artistic freedom, but while he can and has created instrumental works that can stand by themselves, he continuously chooses to work with vocalists. The result is, his recent releases are all about this really cool balance between his role as a shredder and as a riff-writer; and when those two are equal in strength, you get a really heavy thing going on. I’m talking of course about Jeff’s most recent EP released on April 16th, “Requiem For The Living“.

So, let’s talk about the music. The title track on this short release was actually featured on Loomis’ previous album – why? I have no idea. It’s a classic heavy metal\shred piece, but the real beatdown begins with track 2 “A Liar’s Chain“. Moving in an even more new-school direction than before, this song is such groove metal attack! you’d think Lamb of God are playing(including the snarling vocals) if it weren’t for those later melodies and solo section.

“Speak of Nothing” continues in a similar but sped-up fashion, more than bordering on melodic death metal with those aggressive drum patterns and the super-melodic chorus! It can only be described as riff-tastic hybrid, combining the straightforward attitude of a killer metal band with Jeff’s recognizable guitar tone and intelligent composing style. Oh and it’s catchy as hell..

The last track on “Requiem For The Living” seems to just go all out melodic DM, it’s brilliant. Not sure if this was intentional, maybe Jeff just wanted to write a heavy song? But the whole thing just crawls with a sick vibe reminiscent of Carcass‘ “Heartwork”, especially due to Jue Nurre’s work on vocals(and guitars). Such a splendid track, here is “Glass Roots“:

This short EP is packed with great heavy and melodic music by some super talented folks, making me wish it was a longer, full album! Jeff Loomis‘ collaborations with other musicians always deliver, and as usual I will be following up on any future releases by him. This killer EP gets a definite score of 9/10 from me! And hey, if you like what you hear, you can get it on iTunes at such a low price it’s ridiculous.